Towers Arriving Drunk at Tow Requests

In a recent case from Marysville, Calif., police officers at a vehicle accident scene arrested a tow truck driver that they stated had arrived to their crash in an (allegedly) intoxicated condition. News reports stated, “Officers described how the tow truck driver was having a difficult time maneuvering the tow truck and securing the damaged vehicle to the truck.” It was later reported that the tower’s blood-alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit.

Inebriation in its simple form is obvious, but being under the influence of cold, flu medications, or mouthwash products that are commonly purchased as over-the-counter “quick fixes” can lead an unsuspecting tower to an overnight stay in the slammer.Everyone with an ounce of sense knows the signs and symptoms of alcohol and substance intoxication. Slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, a buffalo’s breath that reeks like a whiskey-bottle’s bottom or perhaps the inability to hold one’s liquids are just a few symptoms common to the intoxicated driver. Arriving on-scene to conduct tow or recovery operations is flirting with arrest; more importantly, the intoxicated state places the tower and those they contact in harm’s way.Let’s say a tow driver happens on-scene with no intent of being detected that they’re three sheets to the wind. The professional drinker may mask higher levels of intoxication, but the eyes never lie. Although an intoxicated person may think they’ve bamboozled the cops, an officer trained in gaze nystagmus (dancing eyes) may first use the technique to detect an on-board basis of intoxication and initiate further DUI performance testing.As a tow business owner, you know just how vulnerable you are regarding your employees’ actions. Especially is true for the driver who takes a tow truck home and their whereabouts isn’t always known. In this modern age of GPS- and Internet-based operational software, it makes best sense to utilize programs designed to identify and locate tow truck movements, whereabouts and driver status, so knowing where your trucks are at all times is possible.Equally important is specific wording in your company’s employee manual prohibiting on-the-job drinking, drug use, or consumption of products that produce signs and symptoms of an intoxicated driver. If your driver injures or kills another while intoxicated … stand by because they’re coming after you.